


The Lovers Gambit

by northernfieldsforever



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chess, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, M/M, Modern AU, Perhaps a bit dramatic too, Robb Stark is a Gift, Surprise Kissing, Theons pov, his thoughts get angsty cause its theon but there's a happy ending, mistreatment of chess pieces, some jealousy...maybe..., this fic got longer and more serious than i thought it would wooow, which is very serious indeed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29478936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/northernfieldsforever/pseuds/northernfieldsforever
Summary: "An unconventional move in which one player knocks all of the pieces to the ground and then kisses their opponent."
Relationships: Theon Greyjoy/Robb Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22
Collections: Wintersend 2020 & 2021





	The Lovers Gambit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mis_Shapes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mis_Shapes/gifts).



> Just a cheesy, nice, silly little fic for my giftee where I got the idea from a tumblr post a while ago and sort of ran wild with it in terms of Wintersend and thought it would fit the end of winter sort of theme, especially as Valentines Day was yesterday! Some angst in terms of Theon being Theon but other than that there's a happy ending. Hope you enjoy!

Winter had almost been and gone, with February greeting them all with a harsh reminder that the snowfall was not yet over. He longed for warmer days to come sooner and yet the past few weeks had still insisted on mocking him as he shivered constantly. On the plus side, he still had half a year of his school days left ahead of him. Most would be excited to have the freedom of adulthood so close but a part of him had also felt dread…it was his father’s fault, as most things were when they made Theon feel sick to his stomach. While living under Balon’s roof as a child, he had been screamed at, shoved, his things broken, and he had even on occasion ended up with enough bruises that not covering them up would have been sure to lead to questions. And yet he had never been thrown out, no matter how ‘insolent’ his _dear old father_ had found him. He had considered running away a couple of times but Asha had always seemed to know what he was planning and stopped him, why…he didn’t know. Maybe she knew what he would never had admitted and that was that he wouldn’t know where to go and he’d barely last a week on his own. The problem now was he was still in that position…he considered himself to be smart enough and he had done well in most classes but he still didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life and he feared that his father would take advantage of that in order to convince him to do something to ‘make the family proud for once.’ That would either involve the Greyjoy fishing business or Aeron’s religious cult or something weird like that. And god knew he didn’t want to know what his other uncles got up to. There was also his sister…who had left him feeling abandoned when she all of a sudden moved out a couple of years ago…it was possible that she would be willing to help him but he didn’t want to be a burden when she had freed herself from the Greyjoy life.

To avoid getting into the dark mood he would often find himself in when he thought about his family too much, he would try to put his focus onto something else. Or someone else…someone who had gotten him through long, cold nights and had invited him over for Christmas so he didn’t feel so lonely. Someone who he looked forward to graduating with and then they’d spend their last hot summer as youths laughing and fooling around and getting drunk before the world told them it was time to be responsible young men. Theon could never seen himself carrying any sort of responsibility anytime soon but he knew that his best friend had been born to be in charge, or at least to be in the caring, big brotherly role that he had always taken on so well. On Theon’s first ever day of school, he had been scared and untrusting of the other kids. His mum had told him to make friends but if it was anything like the way his older brothers had played with him then he didn’t want it. When a shorter, carrot haired boy had approached him he had barely had time to glare at him before he was being surprised by the way he beamed up at him before proclaiming ‘I’m Robb Stark and we should be best friends.’ And best friends they had become.

Now, in their late teens, Theon was the one looking up at Robb which frankly had been very rude. Especially so when Theon was teased about it and the other man only ever got away with it because well…he was Robb. Sweet, kind, considerate, can be even more of a little shit than Theon himself is when he wants to be…Robb. Robb with his infectious smile, the most soft auburn curls he had ever seen, and those sparkling blue eyes when he found something amusing. Robb who was just…perfect. He knew they both had flaws and they had been in their fair share of arguments with each other in the past but at the end of the day it was his best friend he wanted and it would only ever be Robb…now and always. Okay so that did sound a bit like he had fallen in love with him which he definitely hadn’t, no, he absolutely had not been falling for years, hoping that maybe Robb had been doing the same…hoping that one day he might have the guts to make the first move. It didn’t seem likely though, he would never be that person when it came to Robb. He refused to risk their entire friendship over what could just be a stupid crush that he could get over. He promised himself he would never ruin his friendship with Robb like that.

And then he had broken that promise.

* * *

It had all started when Theon’s archery club had been cancelled that evening, a black omen for the rest of the day really. A true scandal. He couldn’t remember the last time it happened and mourned the loss of being able to show off his aim and strong arm muscles once again. A couple of times he could have sworn he saw _Robb_ staring for just a bit too long but that had to have just been his imagination. Of course his best friend would be looking at him more than the other archers. The other boy only came to watch when he didn’t have Chess that evening and that hadn’t been often enough to be used to looking anywhere else but at the one person he knew there, clearly. That didn’t mean Theon couldn’t enjoy it anyway though and maybe even show off a bit, not that he would admit to doing so.

Unfortunately this evening he was forced to come face to face yet again to possibly the one uncool thing about his best friend…his unbelievably nerdy adoration of the game, Chess. Okay so maybe it wasn’t _that_ bad and he was willing to support Robb with any of his hobbies and he loved him enough that he had listened to his rants about the theory of the sport in the past, not being able to help but adore the way Robbs face lit up talking about it. The other boy could go on for hours about the best openings, the different strategies behind the middlegames and how one could turn things more towards their favour out of nowhere. Robb spoke of it as if he was actually a King leading a war and a thought crossed his mind that his best friend would be sure to win all of his battles if he had been alive back then. He had the determination and wit for it for sure, enough for what it took to pull off an endgame that his opponent wouldn’t expect. It all felt thrilling when he thought of fighting alongside Robb, not against him on opposite sides of a chess board but on the battlefield in a more action filled scenario where a win felt far more rewarding than a simple ‘checkmate.’

When Robb had once remarked that they used to call chess ‘the Kings Game’ centuries ago, Theon had bluntly stated that surely Kings had a much better use of their time and that had gotten him a soft pillow to the face. But no matter the jests, he would always desire to spend the majority of his time with Robb…even if he was about to be painfully bored for the next couple of hours. The things he did for that boy.  


Upon arriving at the room which hosted the chess club they had bumped into none other than a Frey first. Olyvar? That might have been his name, Theon thought the boy was maybe in a couple of his classes and it could be said that if Robb liked him then he wasn’t that bad but he was sure Robb could like anyone as long as they didn’t reveal a good reason for him not to. Theon had been rather indifferent to the Frey…at least up until everyone in the room took their seats at various match tables, two people each, and somehow Frey had gotten to sit next to Robb before he could…he had narrowed his eyes, wondering who he thought he was before sitting at the closest table instead. They were all to have timers and the loser would move clockwise around the room. Theon now glared down at his chess pieces. It had been too long since he last played against Robb but he often took the piss then…he may as well waste time to go over each piece in his head. You had the useless pawns, only good for getting stuck in front of other pieces and occasionally carrying out a sneak attack…he often liked to sacrifice his meanwhile if it gave him the opportunity to steal a more valuable piece right after the pawn was took. Next were the castles and bishops, he supposed they made sense enough. Then the king and queen, underpowered and overpowered respectively…maybe if he was that helpless he would spend all his time on chess and would eventually enjoy it, imagine that.

And lastly, the horses. He refused to call them knights, much to Robbs chagrin but it was because Theon was right. It didn’t make sense to claim they were knights if no knight was riding them. If anything it was Theon who was the handsome and charming knight, saving all of his people from the evil attacker across the board. He especially did like to take care of his horses, they moved in the most confusing way possible and he had sort of liked that when it gave him the advantage. He would carefully move them around the board, ensuring they wouldn’t be caught…however if one was captured he would of course be heartbroken due to the awful loss. Last time Robb had taken his with the worlds sneakiest trick he had yelled betrayal until Robb had at least told him what he had done and how Theon might prevent it in the future. He would have liked to think he had taken in all of his friends tips and tricks and he prided himself on at least knowing that he needed to be a couple moves ahead at all times…but when it came to the first person he played against now it had barely been a few minutes when….”Checkmate.”

“Impossible.” He frowned, looking at the barely yet scattered pieces but then he saw it…that treacherous gap he had left open, leaving his King up for grabs. His opponent had simply looked smug and folded his arms in a way that seemed as if he thought he was better than Theon was which had earned him a glare. He had wanted to throw one of the castles at the other boy but settled for sighing loudly and refusing to help reset the board again. Instead his eyes now made his way over to where Robb was…he had caught him laughing, mid joke with the Frey, well at least someone was having fun, he huffed. He resumed staring at Robb for longer than he’d like to be caught doing, wishing he could be close enough to see those freckles right now, too lost in his thoughts about Robb that it had taken him a moment to realise people were moving around the room now. He took his chance the minute Frey stood up and gracefully slipped into the chair opposite Robb now, who raised an eyebrow.

“You’re going anti clockwise?”  
  
“Mmm, problem Stark?” .

“Not at all, Greyjoy.” Came the response as they both grinned at each other. It had been lucky for him that Robb hadn’t lost and he had but he wasn’t surprised about the former. He knew he was going to lose yet again but he didn’t mind losing to Robb for as long as he got to be up close to the cute freckles on his nose or his dimple in his cheek. Or so he thought. It had actually turned out to be a close game for them both. Theon had cursed quietly at what had turned out to be a bad choice in opening but then as the game progressed he had actually caused Robb to slip up more times than usual and he could feel himself becoming more confident in his current tactic. He almost had him, he could feel it, one more move and he thought he’d be the one-

“Check.” Theon had failed to see the mischievous twinkle in Robbs eyes as he had clearly spotted a way to break through Theon’s defences but the smirk on the redhead’s face was now a long way from subtle. It was his “I’m Robb Stark and you just found out I can be a little shit" smirk only Theon had known that fact for a while now. He had stared at his friend in disbelief before looking down at the board…he did have a couple moves but one would make him lose his Queen and the other would only take him out of check until Robb just put him back again. It wasn’t fair, he had been doing so well! He was almost pouting now but Robb only continued to look amused. Damn him. He didn’t know what exactly had possessed him to do it…maybe he could tell himself he simply had wanted to wipe that smirk away and definitely not because a part of him was finding the smugness in Robb kind of attractive right now. Either way he couldn’t deny he had done it. Within seconds he had knocked most of the chess pieces to the floor with one sweep of his hand and then he was reaching forward and pulling on Robbs shirt, and their lips met.

Kissing Robb had felt like all of his happiest dreams combined and it had been hard to maintain his composure when he was sure that his friend had begun to kiss him back, he felt his own shirt being pulled on as the kiss deepened but then someone cleared their throat and they both sprung away from each other as if they’d be shocked. Theon only managed a weak smirk of his own as he muttered ‘Checkmate’ before realising exactly what he had done and his face dropped. Then he had left before anyone, even Robb, had any time to react further.

* * *

He had done it. He had fucked up. He had made a stupidly bold move on Robb that he no doubt had never wanted at all. Robb was going to hate him now. He would have to drop out of school early and join his uncles creepy religious cult after all so that he’d never have to face anyone he knew ever again. They would all remember him as the boy who had dared to think that anyone as perfect as Robb Stark would even want to love him back, nevermind kiss him. At least he had gone straight home as quick he could, he would never have to face Robb again…as lay on his bed he wondered if he would have to change his phone number too but that was when no other than his best friends name popped up with a text message.

**I hope you know that was cheating.**

Silence for another twenties minutes as Theon didn’t feel like answering anytime soon…or ever. But then another text.

**Do we need to talk about…you know?**

That made Theon sit up a bit. Not only had Robb joked with him after what he had done but he actually wanted to talk about it? He considered the ramifications of just telling Robb everything about his feelings towards him but then…what if Robb was hoping that they wouldn’t talk about it, that it would be forgotten completely. There’d be no awkward talks or rejections between them if they just pretended it never happened at all.

**Nah. It was a joke, sorry bro.**

**Oh, right.**

He had cringed at his use of the word ‘bro’ for a moment but then Robbs response had made him furrow his brow. It was the kind of answer he’d give if he had been expecting Theon to say something else…maybe hoping? No, absolutely not. Robb just didn’t feel like talking to him right now, maybe he was even mad at him. He hated that thought but had to remind himself it was all his fault and he deserved it. He should have just been happy with being Robbs best friend. He now groaned in frustration at himself before throwing himself back on the bed again, tossing the phone to the side. He was now well and truly messed up. So much so that he had now been lay on his bed for a couple hours, head in his hands, ignoring the growing feeling of hunger in his stomach.

It was his fathers yelling that made him begin to move, he had come home and from the sounds of it immediately gotten drunk in front of the TV yet again and was ready to scream at whoever on the screen displeased him. Theon knew it was only a matter of time until the man came stomping up the stairs to start cursing at him and blaming him yet again for something that had nothing to do with him. Or he’d be called useless and stupid and a waste of space and he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of that right now, he was already occupied with thinking his best friend in the whole world hated him. 

It hadn’t taken long at all for Theon to slip on a jacket, grab a bag of stuff just in case he didn’t feel like coming home until the morning, and leave the house through the backdoor. He hadn’t thought about where he would walk to, just that he needed to walk and get somewhere far away from _there._ It had taken him until he was in front of the Starks house until he realised that he had automatically gone down a very familiar route, one that he often turned to when he didn’t feel safe anywhere else. Perhaps a part of him had hoped that even if things changed between him and Robb…he’d still have a place at Robbs side no matter what. It had now occurred to him that Robb wasn’t the type to just throw someone aside after all they had been through, at least not without talking to the person first. And he so he had knocked.

When the door had opened, the greeting had been odd to him. Robb had actually smiled, seemed pleased to see him as always. As if nothing had happened earlier, or if it was on Robbs mind then he wasn’t letting it on right now. Instead Theon was invited in and offered some of Robb’s mums chicken and mushroom pie that had been made for dinner. He had been grateful for them having leftovers, a concept that could often be a miracle in the Stark house but that was explained by the fact that most of the siblings were at sleepovers and Robb had been left to babysit Bran and Rickon as their parents had also gone out for the night. He had laughed at Robbs comment that he hoped Jon was finally making a move on Satin, his ‘friend who was a boy’, seems though he had taken the short end of the stick tonight. He had seemed relieved that Theon had come over which gave him some hope that they would at least be staying friends and would move past this whole ordeal. They watched a couple of movies with Robbs brothers before Robb had put them both to bed. Rickon had almost gotten away with taking sweets up to his room with him, almost, but they had all fallen from the bottom of his trousers in a rather comical way that had Theon and Robb laughing before they remembered they were the responsible adults there.

* * *

Once the two teenagers were finally the only ones awake, they had settled for watching one more movie before heading up to Robbs room for bed. It had been a scary one…but the kind where they laughed at how bad it was every few minutes until it had eventually gotten too boring and they were all worn out by the time they were upstairs. On Robbs floor was a spare mattress, blanket, and duvet which Theon, as far as anyone else knew, had been sleeping on for years. The real secret that was between them was that Theon often crawled under the covers of Robbs bed and they would talk until they fell asleep almost in each others arms. And as far as they knew, no one had ever caught like that. It was different this time though, Theon had been welcomed into the house but he felt awkward and worried that he shouldn’t presume to get into his best friends bed this time after he had kissed him. And so onto the mattress on the floor he went and he had assumed they’d fall asleep within minutes but then Robbs voice came out of the darkness above him.

“Theon.”  
“What?”  
“Are you awake?”  
“No, I sleep talk now.”  
“Theon…” Robb whined now.

“What do you want, Stark?”

“I just wanted to ask you something.”

“…Go on.”

The lamp turned on, which Theon didn’t think was really necessary for asking questions in the middle of the night but apparently Robb had to sit on the edge of his bed and be facing him now.

“When you kissed me, was it really just a joke?”  
  
Well that has been the question he had wanted to answer the least. He had froze, glancing back up at Robb like a deer in the headlights before looking back down again. “I…”

“It wasn’t a joke, was it?” Robb prompted now, although he was speaking softly as if not wanting to scare Theon away.

For a brief moment Theon had considered that it wouldn’t be so bad to simply open Robbs window and jump out of it. But instead he took a deep breath and eventually shook his head.

“No it wasn’t. Look Robb, I’ll just say it, I’ve been in love with you for years and I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable because of it, we can never speak of it again if you want, in fact if you really wanted _we_ could never speak again but I really hope we can still be friends and just forget I ever did or say anything, I’m really sorry I completely took advantage of you and made things awkward and I’ve been worrying that I’ve ruined our friendship and I would completely understand if you hate me now-“

“Theon!” He hadn’t heard Robb trying to speak over his increasingly frantic rant but now Robb was on the floor, kneeling right in front of him and trying to calm him down.

“Theon…I love you too.”  
“…You do?”  
“Yes, you idiot, even after you almost broke the chess set that I got for my 16th birthday. And for quite some time before that too.”  
“…Are the horses okay?”  
“Yes, Smiler and Blackwind are fine, although some of the pawns might be traumatised now.”

“You know I only care about the horses.”

“Knights. They are knights! Why are we even arguing after we just literally confessed our love for each other?”

That was a good question, it seemed like one better asked in the morning when they could have a proper talk about and he wouldn’t be so tired that he was half accepting this as some bizarre dream. And so he had made some comment about doing something better with their mouths which had ended with a pillow in his face and Theon had retaliated by tackling Robb onto the mattress. Robb was then the one to initiate their second kiss and as they fell asleep into each others arms they’d agreed to talk about it more tomorrow. Whatever it was.

With luck he’d wake up and it would all have been real and not some cruel trick. And it would fully sink in that Robb Stark loved him back and nothing else mattered in the world. 

~~(And once that was settled Robb would demand a rematch and Theon would cheat yet again.)~~

_End_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. :)


End file.
